Anuran earlier informed the Manila Standard that his fighter and his trainer Justin Fortune had accepted an offer to fight the WBA champion and thought there was a chance for the Filipino to
score an upset over the two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist.

However, the manager of Rigondeaux told boxingscene.com that they had decided to defend the WBA title against Poonsawat a former two-time title challenger who has a record of 48-2 with 33 knockouts.

Gary Hyde said there was some discussion about a fight with Filipino contender Drian Francisco (23-1-1, 18KOs), but Hyde says that fight will not happen and Rigondeaux has already signed a contract for Poonsawat.